| UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | September 10, 2022 (2022-09-10) | |||
| Venue | T-Mobile Arena | |||
| City | Paradise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | 19,125[1] | |||
| Total gate | $5,670,271.86[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 279: Diaz vs. Ferguson was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 10, 2022, at theT-Mobile Arena inParadise,Nevada, part of theLas Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]
The promotion originally targeted aUFC Bantamweight Championship bout between former championAljamain Sterling and former two-time championT.J. Dillashaw as the main event, but opted to change plans and move it toUFC 280.[3][4]
Originally, a welterweight bout headliningKhamzat Chimaev againstNate Diaz, former lightweight title challenger and winner ofThe Ultimate Fighter 5, was set for the event. However, Chimaev weighed in at 178.5 pounds, exceeding the non-title welterweight limit by 7.5 pounds, leading to the bout's cancellation.
In response to this, the UFC made several changes:
A trio of bouts was originally scheduled for this date, but they were eventually pushed back a week toUFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song as the promotion adjusted its schedule in June: lightweight bouts featuring Trey Ogden vs. Daniel Zellhuber and Nikolas Motta vs. Cameron VanCamp; as well as a welterweight bout between Louis Cosce andTrevin Giles.[5]
A women's strawweight bout betweenHannah Cifers and Melissa Martinez was expected to take place at the event.[6] However, Cifers pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Elise Reed.[7][8]
A middleweight bout betweenJamie Pickett and Denis Tiuliulin was expected to take place atUFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Fiziev, but it was moved to this card due to Tiuliulin suffering an injury during the week of the fight.[9][10][11]
A heavyweight bout betweenShamil Abdurakhimov andJailton Almeida was expected to take place at the event.[12] However, Abdurakhimov was forced to withdraw due to visa issues and was replaced by Anton Turkalj at a catchweight of 220 pounds.[13]
While the organization typically conducts a pre-fight press conference two days ahead of numbered events, this session was interrupted and cut short. Fighters from the final three bouts were scheduled to attend, but after an extended wait, UFC PresidentDana White showed up only with Holland and Rodriguez. He announced that fighters would be brought in pairs, but cancelled the press-conference after their participation instead for "everybody's safety".[14] He later revealed that an altercation involving four fighters and their teams took place backstage. It initiated with Chimaev and Holland, with Diaz eventually getting involved.[15] TheNevada Athletic Commission (NAC) is expected to investigate the incident and potentially discipline all licensees.[16]
In addition to Chimaev missing weight, featherweightHakeem Dawodu and heavyweightChris Barnett both missed weight as well. Dawodu weighed at 149.5 pounds, 3.5 pounds over the non-title featherweight limit, while Barnett weighed in at 267.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds over the non-title heavyweight limit. Both bouts proceeded at catchweight with Dawodu and Barnett each fined 30% and 20% of their purses, which went to their opponentsJulian Erosa andJake Collier respectively. A women's bantamweight bout betweenIrene Aldana andThe Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters women's featherweight winnerMacy Chiasson was also changed to a 140-pound catchweight bout, but it was not due to a weight miss.[17]
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Nate Diaz | def. | Tony Ferguson | Submission (guillotine choke) | 4 | 2:52 | |
| Catchweight (180 lb) | Khamzat Chimaev | def. | Kevin Holland | Submission (brabo choke) | 1 | 2:13 | |
| Catchweight (180 lb) | Daniel Rodriguez | def. | Li Jingliang | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (140 lb) | Irene Aldana | def. | Macy Chiasson | KO (upkick to the body) | 3 | 2:21 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Johnny Walker | def. | Ion Cuțelaba | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 4:37 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Catchweight (149.5 lb) | Julian Erosa | def. | Hakeem Dawodu | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (220 lb) | Jailton Almeida | def. | Anton Turkalj | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 4:27 | |
| Middleweight | Denis Tiuliulin | def. | Jamie Pickett | TKO (knee and punches) | 2 | 4:52 | [a] |
| Catchweight (267.5 lb) | Chris Barnett | def. | Jake Collier | TKO (punches) | 2 | 2:24 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Women's Featherweight | Norma Dumont | def. | Danyelle Wolf | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Alateng Heili | def. | Chad Anheliger | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Elise Reed | def. | Melissa Martinez | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Yohan Lainesse | def. | Darian Weeks | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[19]
